Contrary to my previous post to the Divsion 9 Forum, I actually did move to Knoxville in September and plan to get active in Division 9 racing next spring. With your help, I'd like to get spun up on what's going on in Division 9. I've come over here with a 14, 16, and a 20 and have been active racing each of them in Divsion 14 where they have several active fleets and HCA points regattas each year. I haven't seen any Divsion 9 HCA events on the Hobie schedules. What's up with that? Do you guys sponsor any fleet events or is it all open class events? I've seen the EMSA site. What's typical Hobie participation like at those events? Is there typically any activity over here on the west side of the Appalachians? I'll be sailing at Concord Yacht Club in Knoxville and will be pushing to reinvigorate Hobie sailing over here. Let me know where you guys sail. You can get to know a little more about me by reading my article in last month's Hotline about Fleet 401's Holiday In Dixie regatta. I look forward to your feedback and sailing with y'all in 2013.

I don't know much about the TN area but EMSA does put on several open multihull events in the Div 9 area. I'm kind of new to this but I've attended a couple of EMSA events in the last year and really enjoyed them.

The EMSA website is not updated that often and they appear to be a relatively informal organization. You will get much more information by joining their Yahoo group.

EMSA is open Multihull and does not run vendor specific events. Typically there is a good turnout of A-Cats, Hobie 16s, F-18s and F-16s. There's lot of variety in the rest of the field. Usually more H16 than any others.

Not sure how far you are willing to travel but there is a very active group in Va. Beach/ Norfolk VA, Fleet 32, that hosts quite a few events. They have a large H16 fleet.

I don't have a rig that could enter HCANA events (aftermarket tramp and no comptip) but would like to see more events focused on Hobie and cats in general in the area.

Great article on Holiday In Dixie regatta and the closing section about reviving interest. I grew up there and get back from time to time but never seem to catch HID, Revel, Mudbug, or Mardi Gras

We are just starting out but already it looks like Lake Norman is the best spot around here for us. Lake Norman Yacht Club had Cat Fest a few weeks ago with a number of Hobies present. This past weekend my son and I participated in LNYC's Chase the Cat - there were 7 cats there including our 16 and an 18.

Gary's a gread dude! Yes, the HCANA route does require a nod to the rules, but unless somebody does something really rediculous, most folks will just wink and look the other way regarding old aluminum masts. An old trampoline is only an issue if someone protests you. If that happened, you'd lose the protest and be scored last, but if I were running the regatta, I'd still allow you to race and you'd have fun out on the course. Since more boats make it more fun, the other competitors would rather have you on the water than not. We had a couple of solid masts at Holiday In Dixie and no one protested them, same at Mid-Americas on Labor Day weekend.

Especially with regards to newb's, I'd rather them sail just about anything and have a good time and possibly get hooked on racing. If they get into it, they might decide to buy a newer boat with a comptip and a legal trampoline and get competitive. Somtimes it's worth it to bend a rule if you can plant a seed in the process.

Basically Div 9 does not exist. When Hobie mandated the Hobie only regatta rules the leadership of Div 9 met and decided there were too many non-hobie boats racing to follow Hobies mandate. EMSA was formed and for some time there were many events in NC,SC and GA. As overall attendance dropped many events were scrapped. At this point there are less than 10 races per year if memory serves. The fleet is mostly A-cats, F18s, F16s and H16s with a few remaining I-20 sailors and the occasional square. Lots of really nice guys and some great sailors in the group. Jake Kohl is a good contact for EMSA, you can find him on catsailor.com. I am not aware of any races on the west side of the appalachians until you get near the gulf.

Thanks for the update on Division 9, or lack thereof. Do you think there are enough active Hobie sailors/racers in the area to try to invigorate either a) Hobie only regattas or b) get enough Hobies together at yacht club sponsored events so they can have their own class?

There is a HCANA "yacht club" rule that allows a yacht club to sponsor a Hobie points regatta as long as like Hobies are scored against each other and not against other cats on a Portsmouth basis. However, it would be ok if there were other cats racing at the same event as long as they had a different start and weren't scored with the Hobies.

What do you think? In my opinion, one-design class racing is the best there is, and I'd like to try to put some of that together in our area if it doesn't already exist.

There are plenty of Hobie 16s and Waves around. The trick is getting them to the events and getting folks oriented to the rules of racing. Most of the Hobie sailors I've met at the lake/beach have never raced and don't have any easy way to try. EMSA events are great but they are few, spread out, and seldom advertised. I doubt many Hobie owners even know about them.

While I agree having a single class race is best, I think EMSA's all inclusive policy is great. I like see and learn about the other cats out there. If enough 16s (or any class) show up you can get class start. We had a 16 class start at the last regatta I attended.

There are certainly enough boats around but getting them on the water at one time seems difficult. I know EMSA has held several learning regattas on Keowee in SC. I always enjoy the race in Columbia, SC, the Outback Cup. The guys at Norman have been at it for a long while and the grandaddy race, Springfever is in Ga. Lost the Hattaras race last year but the Duck cup is reported to be a fun race. You have to look for the info but there are several races within a days drive.I haven't attended any races in the past 2 years. I sail an H18 but there are never enough to make class. So, my boat is a hotrod! Almost an F18 but not quite.

My crew heads off to college in a year but we plan to make the most of it until then [as long as he can arrange time off from after school work].

I think folks try to do a good job getting the word out but find there is no consistent way used and non-EMSA events are hardly heard of. Plus the communications are aimed at the initiated - they are generally not aimed at people new to it all. I mean if you didn't know what "Springfever" is you might not ever know where, when, or what it is or how to find info on it.

This forum, The Beachcats, Cat Sailor and Regatta Network all are good places to post notice of events. If anyone has a Fleet and has an HCANA sponsored Hobie only event, the Hotline is a great place for publication. But on the other hand, people have to take the initiative to find the sites or join the HCANA or notice will be lost on them. Something that I've seen to be very effective is sending notice of events to other sailors for whom you have an email address. If you learn of a regatta, pass the news to all the sailors you know and implore them to do the same. Build a network. When I'm going to a regatta I make sure everyone I know and their friends are informed of it because if I make the effort to go, I want to do all I can to make it as fun as it can be, and that means trying to encourage participation. Races have to be actively promoted (not saying that they haven't been in Div 9, I'm just the new guy).

MVD - did you see this? Out of reach for me but not too far from Knoxville. The NOR is posted on the EMSA yahoo site. I can email it to you if you want it.

Post from Yahoo Group...---------------------------"Last Cat Regatta will be at the Keowee Sailing Club Nov 3-4. Low budget regatta with two days racing, NOR to be posted soon. Need a head count. There has been talk of a Classic fleet of 18s and 16s, with Prindles and Tracs welcome-is there interest in doing this? Please give me input-not much fun putting this regatta together if there is little interest-we need boats to show up to continue doing regattas."

Thanks for the heads up. I've searched several sites and Google searched for the NOR, all to no avail. I'd appreciate it if you'd email a copy to me at: markwvandoren@gmail.com. Unlikely I'll make over there on short notice and a with major home renovation in progress, but I may find a way to make it happen.

Jerome Vaughn sent a reply to my post on TheBeachCats about sailing in Knoxville. We are about to relo to Farragut and I am interested in the Concord Yacht Club and meeting up with other Hobie and cat sailors.

I have visited the Club to take a quick look around. Do you store your boat(s) mast up there? Think there is a chance someone with no seniority can find a mast up storage along the shore?